Choosing the Right Pier and Beam Foundation Repair Contractor

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Peace of mind is choosing the right pier and beam foundation repair contractor to fix your home.

There is one thing for certain about any foundation: it is only a matter of time before it moves. Unlike a slab foundation cracking, a pier and beam foundation has the additional flexibility to dip and rise like a roller coaster. When it comes to repairs, you want to choose a pier and beam foundation repair contractor who can spot the source of the problem and get you back to level. Many of these also apply to slab on grade foundation repair contractors as well.

How to choose the RIGHT pier and beam foundation repair contractor:

1. Try to know where the problems are in your pier and beam foundation before picking up the phone.

Go into the crawl space yourself.

Yes, get dirty.

A high powered flashlight (preferably uncorded) and an (unpictured) long stick to clear away cobwebs are a must. I also like keeping my hands and shoes clean with easily thrown away double bagged plastic shopping bags. I’m also wearing some borrowed jeans as this was an unexpected trip under the house and I didn’t pack my work jeans.

Become familiar with the problem and what needs to get fixed. Take pictures. Write down your description. If it is somewhat complex so you make sure you go over all the points with each contractor.

Not to worry. Foundation problems are not rocket science. You already know where your problems are when you walk across the floor. There is probably a corresponding problem where you feel those dips and rolls.

Hmmm…it seems as though this beam should be ON TOP of the column and there seems to be some MASSIVE water damage.

Even if you don’t feel it above, sometimes it’s just because you are lucky. It is still obvious when you see it for yourself:

This is one case where finding the problem is easy…while giving you an uneasy* feeling in the pit of your stomach.

However, there are times when it is not so clear. Like if you have dry rot where the boards look OK, but the minute you (or the crew) attempts to jack them up, applying pressure in a new way, they start getting crushed.

Five months pregnant, the second foundation repair contractor we hired exclaimed I was only the second woman who went under the house to supervise and verify the repairs. I was probably the first pregnant one… In all fairness, I’m not sure how many guys go under either. Undoubtedly, more than the ladies, but it is probably less than 100%.

Gender aside, I’m not going to have someone pull the wool over my eyes and I doubt you want that either.

2. Get recommendations.

Talk to your friends and neighbors. Ask on a local Facebook or Next Door group. The world revolves around word of mouth and reviews.

Read reviews. However, take them with a grain of salt. Overall, my two cents say most people don’t review. Some people like putting nice reviews out there. Dissatisfied people are probably more likely to write a review IMHO.

3. Get more than one bid.

Ideally you should get three bids. This gives you a better idea on price and scope.

Second, if one is way off while the other two are similar you can ask more pointed questions and get a better assessment of the problems and expectations.

If you go for many more than three you are wasting your time as well as the contractors time. That is, don’t get more if the first two or three seemed like solid contenders. If not, you should look at a few more.

We called out three contractors for bids. One was easy to eliminate. The other two were both contenders for different reasons. They both agreed on the major issues but they also identified different smaller details.

4. Make sure you are on the same page as the pier and beam foundation repair companies.

House foundation leveling is not a tech savvy industry. In our experience, the guy coming out to bid is the same guy leading the team and doing the repairs himself. These are good ol’boys who know their craft and get shit done. They don’t sit there on their cell phones and surf Facebook. They are getting their hands dirty, working alongside their crews and making it happen.

Nick from Remedy Foundation Repair swinging a sledgehammer under the house.

Ken and team (with the addition of my husband) from Precision Foundation reattaching our vinyl siding after foundation repairs.

We certainly pushed them outside of their comfort zone having to work through the bids, interviews and questions remotely. We asked for bids with pictures of the affected areas. We even emailed a drawing we made on graph paper of the house foundations to make sure when we were talking on the phone we were talking about the same exact space. We grilled them several times as we came up with more and more questions.

Sample diagram we made of the first foundation.

Sample diagram we made of the second foundation.

During the estimating and bid process there was only one comment that threw a red flag up for me. Nick mentioned the stem wall (the exterior brick) was not load bearing. While mentally disagreeing on one house, his solution was good for the second house. After seeing Nick’s work on the second foundation, his comment made sense: the crew jacked up some temporary beams while they installed permanent floating beams under the newly sistered joists just inside the stem wall. The stem wall was no longer load bearing *after* their foundation leveling.

This is one instance where a little more discussion would have cleared up these doubts. At the same time, we really did iron out everything ahead of time so we were confident in our choices despite this issue.

5. Make a checklist for each company you interview and ask this same set of questions:

• What is the warranty? Are there any stipulations?
• How long has the contractor has been in business?
• Are they licensed, bonded and insured?
• Do they have any referrals or testimonials you can speak to or visit?
• How long will the job take?
• Will they pull necessary city permits?
• Is it your responsibility or theirs to call the appropriate utility companies to get underground utility lines marked?
• What materials will be used?

What is the warranty? Are there any stipulations?

How long is the warranty? Along with any guarantees and exceptions to the warranty you should also ask if it transferable to the next homeowner. Depending on the length of the warranty, you may want to inquire if the company offers a warranty trust. A warranty trust keeps your warranty in effect even if the company goes out of business.

How long has the contractor has been in business?

Something along the lines of 10 years means it made it past the 7 year milestone many businesses don’t. They are legit and staying for the long haul. However, someone newer with the right answers to the points above and questions below are also good contenders.

Are they licensed, bonded and insured?

Sure, it may cost more, but given an honest mistake or accident, you want to know you and the contractor are covered. Some jurisdictions require contractors to be formally registered with a licence (county, town/ city and some places at the state level) to let building authorities know who is performing work in a given area. Others go a step further and require bonding and insurance. This is meant to protect the consumer and discourage unqualified work. Forgoing licensed and insured is playing roulette.

Do they have any referrals or testimonials you can speak to or visit?

Again, as in point #2, there is nothing like a real live customer or sample work.

How long will the job take?

This is more of a baseline to see if everyone is seeing about the same problems.

Will they pull necessary city permits?

Does the job necessitate a city permit? What happens if they don’t and a city official stops by? Make sure you are covered.

Is it your responsibility or theirs to call the appropriate utility companies to get underground utility lines marked?

You obviously don’t want to dig in the wrong spot and make a potential plumbing, gas or electrical problem a guarantee. All utilities to the house should be clearly marked to ensure a smoother foundation repair. Calling 811 or your appropriate locating service is a must.

What materials will be used?

Some city regulations require certain size bases for the piers to rest. Will hollow or solid columns be used? What kind of shims are required (wood vs 1/4″ steel plates). You might want to verify this list with a city inspector.

6. Go with your gut.

Don’t go based solely on price. If a someone seems shady, but checks all the boxes you don’t want to find out later your gut was right. Instead, for a few hundred more and some peace of mind the next contractor would have been a pleasant experience.

After A LOT of back and forth, we felt comfortable with both gentleman out of our three bids. The follow on work, while semi stressful with expanding scope, was overall a good experience knowing these guys were forthcoming and honest.

7. Expect it to cost more and the damage to be more extensive than expected.

Save some extra money before the repairs begin.

Unfortunately, both houses where we had pier and beam foundation repairs both needed additional work than originally anticipated. The second team quickly realized many of the beams had dry rot as they attempted to jack them up with 20 ton bottle jacks. The ram on the jack started collapsing into the wood and the beams started cracking right over their heads!

These guys know their stuff, but it is difficult to see all the problems until you are in the middle of repairs.

These points should prepare you for choosing the right pier and beam foundation repair contractor. Hopefully, yours goes well without any project creep. If not, at least you picked a good one.

Please come back to share your experience and any extra tips in the comments section below!

If you are in the Longview, Texas, area call Precision Foundation or Remedy Foundation Repair for your pier and beam foundation repairs!

*”Uneasy” is not quite the word I exclaimed or thought when I first spotted THIS particular column. You look at how the beam is barely on the column by a half inch. And then notice the floor joist above it is pressing down on that beam with nothing on the fully supported beam below it. If there was ANY problems there the beam and joist would fall, creating a major depression in the middle of the home, which is also just below where the air conditioner is house in the attic. Talk about some amazing grace there. Thank you to whoever was looking out for me from above…

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What to Expect from Foundation Repairs: Before, During and After

Two Methods for Pier and Beam Foundation Repairs

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